Little Princess

[Cattwooduk]

Right this little princess has been in her spot for about 3 years, but it's so bushy I want it out to stick a more upright 'Bi Hoo' in it's spot which means I can play with the princess for bonsai... I've got no where else to put it.

I've been waiting for the buds to pop and today noticed what I think is perfect time to move it and start it's journey? It also seems to have some aphids already but I'm not worried at the moment since I'm going to be cutting off most of the top I think. Something to watch out for on the rest of my plants though!


I can't work out if that's a graft mark at the bottom or what? Just age maybe, as there are a few patches that look very similar on other bits of the tree. One option is to remove the lower 4 branches coming out the bottom which gives me space, then air layer the middle trunk and use that as s start point next year. I want to move it really but if that's a graft and I can air layer it for better result I can live with the wait.

Otherwise:
Just took the 3 shots for now to give an idea of the lower branches. Wondering how much to reduce the overall height, but thinking just cutting it all back to more or less where the top of the picture is. I'll get some more pictures of the whole thing tomorrow but it's so congested with long growth that it makes it reeeaaallly hard to see the structure anyway.
Any ideas about which way to go first?

 

[LanceMac10]

Spray with a horticultural soap asap...

 

[sorce]

Or do the old chop and burn.

Burn.

Burn.....

Burn!

Sorce

 

[Cattwooduk]

Or do the old chop and burn.

Burn.

Burn.....

Burn!

Sorce

Is it THAT bad? I don't feel I can condemn it to a burn pile already... not without at least making a mess of it, rather than THINKING about making a mess of it.

 

[sorce]

be cutting off most of the top I think

Then burn it!

I found some ? Nasty on my lemon...

So I thru it out in the cold under the dryer vent.

You gotta show those little bastards who's boss!

I don't see a graft...
So I like the tree!

Sorce

 

[Cattwooduk]

Oh right, burn the little bastards I'm with you now haha. I thought you were saying burn the tree!!

I'm gonna blast it all with some spray I've got.
I took a load of cuttings of some willow just starting to shoot which I'mm gonna steep to make willow water, then attempt to root some cuttings of this thing when it gets a hair cut.

So any ideas where to start with it? I'm gonna get it out the ground tomorrow and start by cutting everything right back in but I'm unsure about those lower branches... they just don't look right to me but I dunno if I'm overlooking some potential. It's just too much of a clusterfuck to get my head around envisioning a simpler structure at the moment.

 

[sorce]

haha. I thought you were saying burn the tree

It's the cried wolf effect!

I'd be looking to keep this line...

But cutting all the rest off doesn't really look feasible from these angles..

Seems too big a wound would be left...

And tryin to find a first second third plan isn't really working either.

It almost seems it is past usable with so many branches coming off right there...

But I'd ask Maple guy.

And there is one I know!
@MACH5

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Popping that center trunk out may work.

Broom, WP ish?

Dunno!

You're fun though!

I love you Englishmen!

Sorce

 

[Cattwooduk]

Hmm, I'll carve something out of it, even if it ends up shite. I bought it on a whim from a garden centre right after we moved into our house and had nothing but a bare lawn... I didn't know anything about JMs at all and it looked pretty, then it sat in it's pot for a year.

Not sure about that line, seems a waste to cut off 97% of the tree to leave a little crooked finger pointing disapprovingly at me.



Broom is what I had in mind originally - lopping off all those lower branches and making something with the centre branching. We'll see, I got tomorrow afternoon to play with it and then I'll post some horror pics.

 

[Cattwooduk]

If anyone can say whether I could get away with slicing off those lowest branches and then seal them without causing too much damage?

 

[sorce]

even if it ends up shite.

No no no!

This is way to dope to Shite up!

Sorce

 

[discusmike]

You can make a nice little formal broom with no scaring,that's what I would do if it were mine,if you were able to cut those branches off before they fattened up you would have more options in my opinion

 

[ajm55555]

Then burn it!

I found some ? Nasty on my lemon...

So I thru it out in the cold under the dryer vent.

You gotta show those little bastards who's boss!

I don't see a graft...
So I like the tree!

Sorce

I agree with Sorce. The sooner you get rid of them, the easiest it will be. Don't wait. As soon as you spot them, they should already be on their way to Aphid heaven!

 

[Tentakelaertje]

Or leave it and build a shohin broom

 

[Cattwooduk]

Is it possible to remove those lower branches without scarring? I was going to cut them off and use knob cutters to get the middle out then seal them up- I assume I need to seal them? Even so wouldn't it level scars for a little while?

Or were you suggesting leaving the lower branches and taking out the middle trunk then reshaping the lower branches more upright?

 

[Cattwooduk]

Ok so get ready to witness some butchery!!

I've got it in a training pot. I'm pretty sure I've made a mess of the bottom of it - couldn't get a saw blade in there to make a nice clean cut so I cut it down as far as I could then used knob cutters to take it down further... not sure if this will hinder it's ability to heal over but we'll see. The roots are largely growing on one side, so the nebari isn't great but something I can work on eventually when I know what the hell I'm supposed to do with that.



I've left 2 bottom branches at the moment with the potential to leave one of them to work into a small lower branch under the main canopy. Possibly with the top leaning away from the lower branch but I can't see which of the top 'main 3 ' trunks would need to come out for that - although as far as I know you're not really meant to have branches crossing each other as they are in this picture? In which case I guess it could be something along these lines to remove the crossing.


Other option is to cut off both the remaining bottom branches and got for a broom which I feel would be easier overall, but possibly less interesting/fun to achieve although at this stage I think keeping it alive is going to be the goal. In any case I think I still need to take some of the top branches back down a fair bit more but I decided to take a break and look at it after some food so I don't get carried away and leave myself a nub of unidentifiable wood.

Pictures of the other sides.




Also I'm using this cutting paste and I f**king hate it! How the hell are you supposed to use this stuff? It's so sticky but it ONLY sticks to my fingers so no matter what I try it just comes right off. Seems the only way I can get it squashed over the cut and around the edges I end up with a bubble underneath. I wouldn't have thought smearing paste onto something was going to be another bonsai 101 technique I'd but shite at


Please feel free to destroy every aspect of my first nursery-to-pot 'styling' attempt including my cuts which looks like I used a pair of child's safety scissors. I feel like I've got some idea of what I can see when I look at the tree but can't tell how much I need to cut off etc.

 

[petegreg]

...Also I'm using this cutting paste and I f**king hate it! How the hell are you supposed to use this stuff? It's so sticky but it ONLY sticks to my fingers so no matter what I try it just comes right off. Seems the only way I can get it squashed over the cut and around the edges I end up with a bubble underneath...

Just wet your fingers when working with that putty, with water or saliva.

 

[LanceMac10]

Just try to get the bigger ones. The plant will be moist at the cut ends, so it's pretty frustrating. There are more "liquid" types on the market, but they present their own peculiarities.

Put it in the sun, but try to pay attention to rainfall. I would want to control how much water it gets, as well as trying a bit to keep these cut bits "dry", as in no top watering.
If that makes sense....hehehee....I just feel letting wounds get exposed to "extraneous" water invites disease. Just the tree "weeping" is bad enough....but it doesn't really harm the tree all that much. It'll heal.

Of course, this is in my climate, where it can be "spring" for a week at the end of February and then be the coldest day of winter on the first day of spring!?!?


Just worry about the bigger cuts.

 

[Cattwooduk]

Just try to get the bigger ones. The plant will be moist at the cut ends, so it's pretty frustrating. There are more "liquid" types on the market, but they present their own peculiarities.

Put it in the sun, but try to pay attention to rainfall. I would want to control how much water it gets, as well as trying a bit to keep these cut bits "dry", as in no top watering.
If that makes sense....hehehee....I just feel letting wounds get exposed to "extraneous" water invites disease. Just the tree "weeping" is bad enough....but it doesn't really harm the tree all that much. It'll heal.

Of course, this is in my climate, where it can be "spring" for a week at the end of February and then be the coldest day of winter on the first day of spring!?!?


Just worry about the bigger cuts.

Yeah that sounds exactly like sunny old England! I've got a decent spot for it and I will be checking it every day although with our current weather I'm not worried too much. We're getting showers on and off most days at the moment, and days where it isn't raining it isn't quite warm enough for the soil to dry out.

My main concern was the 2 big wounds on the trunk, wasn't sure whether to leave a little stump to die back or just cut it fairly flat and hope it calluses over. Time will tell I guess!

Just wet your fingers when working with that putty, with water or saliva.

Thanks for that instantly made using it 10x easier, surprising what a bit of common sense achieves

 

[defra]

Im with tentaceleartje ...
Airlayer off the big midle trunk and develop not one but two! Shohin broom style acers